Services Offered

Low Vision Evaluation and Treatment: The low vision evaluation includes a thorough history of visual difficulties, determining if vision can be improved by refraction, measuring visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, visual fields, and reading difficulty, an assessment for the presence of central blind spots in the vision, and an ophthalmological evaluation. Treatment is then provided, often together with low vision occupational therapy evaluation and treatment.

Low Vision Occupational Therapy Evaluation and Treatment: The occupational therapist, Michelle Bianchi OTR/L, CLVT, will focus on analyzing and evaluating difficult daily living tasks and providing practical solutions to visual, physical and aging challenges. The occupational therapy exam provides education and training in using low vision devices and techniques. The treatment is geared to helping patients achieve their goals by making optimal use of their functional vision.

Low Vision Occupational Therapy Treatment in the home when indicated: After the initial occupational therapy evaluation at GBMC it is sometimes deemed beneficial for the client to be seen within his/her own home to allow for proper carry-over of training, assessing safety, lighting and provide home modifications to make living at home a success.

The VIEW (Vision - Information - Education - Wellness) The VIEW is Hoover Service's retail store with newest non-optical aides, such as phones, calendars, low-powered magnifiers and much more. It also is a showcase for high technology devices, such as video magnifiers. This store is available to anyone needing to purchase aids.

Retinal Evaluation: Dr. Sunness is an expert in medical retinal disease, including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, and other hereditary retinal diseases. The retinal evaluation includes a detailed examination, and testing and imaging with modern technology.

Specialized visual function testing and clinical electrophysiology: Dr. Sunness has done pioneering work in defining the visual difficulties associated with many eye diseases. Testing is useful for understanding the cause of unexplained vision loss, to understand the diagnosis and progression of a variety of retinal and optic nerve diseases, and for assessing for damage that occurs as a side effect of certain medications.

Microperimetry allows for the measurement of retinal function and identification of abnormalities in diagnostic imaging of the retina in macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, hereditary retinal and macular disease and other retinal disorders. It helps us in coaching patients to use their remaining vision more effectively.

Visual Field Tests are done to measure your "side" vision, which is important in driving and navigation.

Electroretinography (ERG and multifocal ERG) measures the electricity produced by the retina in response to light flashes. It is important for diagnosing certain diseases like retinitis pigmentosa, for evaluating for neurodegenerative diseases in early childhood, and for identifying the cause of unexplained vision loss.

Visual evoked response (VER, or VEP) measures how well the signal generated by seeing a pattern gets to the back of the brain. It is a sensitive measure of optic nerve function.

Electrooculography (EOG) measures the electrical voltage generated when the eye is in a bright versus a dark environment. This is useful for diagnosing a retinal condition called Best disease.

Dark adaptation testing (SST) measures the smallest amount of light a person can see after being in the dark for 30 minutes or more.

Color vision testing (D15, FM100 Hue) measures how well a person can distinguish different colors, using special testing that is also useful in patients with low vision. Helps to diagnose various optic nerve and retinal diseases.

Fundus photography documents abnormalities in the retina or optic nerve for future comparison.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and Angiography is a noninvasive imaging procedure that provides cross sectional images of the retinal layers and the ability to track changes to macular thickness over time.